Prizing:

1st Place: $50 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Starbucks gift card

Overview:

On Friday, September 30th, the (78-80) Pittsburgh Pirates will be on the road to take on the (82-76) St. Louis Cardinals.  The Cardinals are (34-43) at home this season whereas the Pirates are (40-38) on the road.  Pittsburgh is (4-6) in their last ten games while St. Louis is (5-5).

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Cardinals 5.4 – Pirates 3.0 with an over/under of 8.4.

Starting Pitchers:

PIT- Tyler Glasnow (0-1, 4.91) vs STL- Carlos Martinez (15-9, 3.15)

Batting Stats:

Runs Scored: Cardinals 754 (6^th) > Pirates 721 (13^th)

Batting Average: Pirates .259 (11^th) > Cardinals.254 (19^th)

On Base Percentage: Pirates .334 (4^th) > Cardinals.324 (11^th)

Total Bases: Cardinals 2383 (5^th) > Pirates 2197 (19^th)

Baserunning Stats:

Stolen Bases: Pirates 106 (8^th) > Cardinals 35 (29^th)

Pitching Stats:

Team Earned Run Average: Cardinals 4.12 (14^th) > Pirates 4.18 (16^th)

Batting Average Against: Cardinals .258 (17^th) > Pirates .267 (26^th)

Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched: Cardinals 1.32 (12^th) > Pirates 1.39 (25^th)

Strikeouts: Cardinals 1244 (17^th) > Pirates 1208 (20^th)

Saves: Pirates 51 (5^th) > Cardinals 37 (23^rd)

Fielding Stats:

Errors: Cardinals 72 (tied for 26^th) = Pirates 89 (tied for 26^th)

Summary:

Pittsburgh is (9-7) against St. Louis this season despite being outscored 80-74 in those 16 games.  The Pirates are hitting a combined .315 off of Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez which is impressive considering he is one of the better pitchers in the league.  Pirates outfielders Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte destroy Martinez hitting .526 and .500 respectively against the Cardinals right hander.  Pirates rookie starter Tyler Glasnow has never started against the Cardinals.  Glasnow has been up and down despite flashing electrifying stuff that made him a top prospect.  These teams always seem to play close games and I like St. Louis to win this one at home.

**LISTEN HERE** to the latest edition of “The Berger Shop” podcast, sponsored by The Crowd’s Line.  This week’s features an in depth discussion about sports, social media and business with ESPN’s Darren Rovell.

Note:

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